https://www.tumblr.com/factorybought/743561837003587584?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/8pxl/743524385096351744/psa-tumblrwordpress-is-preparing-to-start?source=share

So I wake up to this and I just can't help but sigh... I'm so tired of AI, I can't even get angry about it anymore.

I remember growing up with movies about robots taking over humanity and how these movies, made only 20+ years ago, seemed so far away from what technology was actually capable of. They were commentary on physical labour being replaced with machines, but the thought of genuinely good artificial intelligence was Pure Science Fiction. Then as I entered my teens ridiculous websites like Cleverbot were all the rage to play with and make youtube videos about. And I remember it being surreal to have a conversation with a computer at all, even if most interactions eventually turned incomprehensible. It was just silly fun, seeing what computers were growing to be capable of. No one would genuinely choose to talk to Cleverbot over a real human person long-term.

And then we enter the 2020's and automation just... skyrockets. stuck at home, people are stuck scrolling on tiktok's FYP bc the algorithm has figured out exactly what keeps you hooked... People studying for physically practised jobs are taking their classes online and then bragging to me about not having a clue what their successfully finished tests were about because they made AI write entire papers for them... Teens are roleplaying with an AI bot rather than other teens... My grandma bought 2 AI generated pictures of a butterfly, mistaking them for being real because she doesn't know AI exists yet... Worldwide a bunch of artists get their voice work, illustrations and music work replaced and stolen with AI to make things cheaper... More and more youtubers become dead-set on running a channel that's fully automated AI work... And no matter how much you raise your voice against it and voice all the concerns about it, every website available takes huge interest and indulges it.

What am I to think of that? 

How do you walk away from that, without leaving the internet in its entirety?

As a lover of history, I've always looked at my grandma and silently wondered how she adapted with the times at all. How she didn't stick with certain fashion styles and how she was able to wrap her head around the ever evolving technological landscape in general. Sure there are still things she's hesitant about, like owning a smartphone or going to the self-check out, but all things considered she and many others her age are doing remarkable! And it's at those times I look at her and wonder, what's the world going to look like when I'm in my 70's? How much will technology have evolved by then, and how much will I be able to understand?

But truth be told, I can't even concept up what the world's going to look like in 10 years, let alone 50! these past 10 years have already been so astronomically different, I wouldn't know where to start. The only thing I feel more confident about is that the future looks grim in many aspects, be it global warming, capitalism, war, the housing market or this new wave of AI. There's a lot that need changing, but the people who speak up about it aren't being heard. I haven't got the foggiest where such a scenario would lead. I just hope I'm wrong!

Anyways, I'm not going to stop posting on Tumblr. I guess in the current online landscape there's no way to post your art and not have it be misused in some way unless you glaze and shade it or whatever.
Which, I guess, I'm going to have to start looking into. 

And for the blue moon chance some AI fanatic is reading this, my TOS already states my art is not to be fed to any AI machines. If you do so, I'm not afraid to make it into a problem.

Sorry for the grim post on this Wednesday, hope the rest of your day/night will be more lovely!